Second Amendment advocates are warning Republicans they could face losses in competitive races after President Donald Trump said protester Alex Pretti "should not have been carrying a gun," despite Pretti being legally armed at the time of his death.
Trump's remarks following Pretti's killing on Jan. 24 by federal agents in Minneapolis have angered gun-rights activists, some of whom are threatening to stay home in November's midterms.
"Trump has got to correct his statements now," one Second Amendment advocate told Politico.
"Second Amendment advocates are furious, and they will not come out and vote. He can't correct it three months before the election," they said.
"I don't like that he had a gun, I don't like that he had two fully loaded magazines, that's a lot of bad stuff," Trump said last week in Iowa, referring to Pretti.
Many gun groups are downplaying the president's remarks, viewing them as a temporary bump rather than a serious threat to the armed-rights movement.
"I'm hoping it's just the president speaking out of turn, as opposed to a thoughtful change in policy," Bryan Strawser, chairman of the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, told The New York Times.
"President Trump has a tendency to just say what's on his mind," he said.
Still, gun-rights leaders say rhetoric matters, particularly among activists sensitive to perceived shifts on firearms.
"I don't know what to say except, 'Mr. President, you're wrong,'" said Dudley Brown, president of the National Association for Gun Rights, the Times reported.
Brown called arguments that Pretti should not have been armed "patently ludicrous."
"They kept saying that you shouldn't take a gun to a protest. All I can say is, that's the place you actually want it, and might need it," Brown said.
"Not only do I disagree; I resent the fact that they would even claim that," he added.
Pretti had a valid permit to carry his Sig Sauer P320 9 mm pistol, openly or concealed.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said there was no evidence Pretti violated state gun laws.
Brown warned that even small drops in turnout could cost Republicans seats.
"All you have to do is lose 4, 5, 6% of their base who left it blank, who didn't write a check, who didn't walk districts, you lose," Brown said.
"Especially marginal districts — and the House is not a good situation right now," he said.
Gun-rights advocates were further angered by remarks from other administration officials.
FBI Director Kash Patel said, "You cannot bring a firearm loaded, with multiple magazines, to any sort of protest that you want."
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said she didn't "know of any peaceful protester that shows up with a gun and ammunition rather than a sign."
"I sent a message to high-placed people in the administration with three letters: WTF," Brown said.
"This was not a good look for your base. You can't be a conservative and not be radically pro-gun," he said.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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